And speaking of Carrie, this book definitely had a little bit of a Carrie vibe, what with the religious stuff/crazy religious parent and the way Jen’s anger manifests into telekinesis (which was completely random and never explained, either, by the way). Now, I might not be religious, but I don’t care if other people are – to each their own! And it isn’t fair to those who embrace their religion, who believe in God, to be portrayed as crazies all the time. And Harmony House did just that (the latter, that is). Second, most of the time, books with religion go the Carrie’s mom route and religion is just used as a scapegoat to make someone seem crazy, overzealous and righteous. Religion in books annoys the crap out of me for two reasons – First, I’m not a very religious person, so I don’t enjoy books that are overly religious. Now, speaking of Jen’s dad, that brings me to one of my biggest issues with this book (besides the fact that we were misled into believing this was a horror story and it wasn’t): Religion. And that attempted rape scene? Why do male writers always do that crap? Please, can someone tell me why? And finally, of course, I hated Jen’s father and his asshole-ish behavior. Alex was an asshole and we never found out if he was JUST an asshole or if he was drunk or possessed or whatever. Also, because Christy’s accident allowed for Jen to leave the house and for Rose to get her alone to talk. I’m pretty sure the only reason she was in the book was so it would be less weird when Rose spoke to Jen. I liked Christy but her character didn’t do much. We never found out who or what he was (except for that one flashback, but we received no confirmation after that) and then he just never showed up again. Colin seemed like an intriguing character but he literally just showed up and disappeared and then… Nothing? Like, legit, nothing. Like, “Oh, hey, I’m sick and hallucinating and having visions, cool!” Also, apparently she was pregnant and never questioned it, even though an ex-boyfriend is NEVER mentioned. Jen was odd and aloof when it came to the things happening to her. But after finishing the book, I think it’s more that I just didn’t like them. At first, I thought it was just the typical Horror Character Disconnection – where you refuse to let yourself like the characters because you don’t know who will survive and who won’t, so you refuse to get attached. I don’t know.? I felt really detached from them and their stories. It wasn’t scary and despite the fast pace and moments of intrigue, it was an overall boring read with a disappointing ending that left me feeling unsatisfied. Which, with Nic Sheff’s past, I guess that isn’t so surprising however, it was disappointing. This book was basically one giant metaphor for addiction. Based on the cover, title and synopsis, I was gearing up for something creepy and spooky that would make me want to sleep with the lights on. Harmony House was one of my most anticipated books of the year. Stop RIGHT HERE if you don’t want to be spoiled! Because I need to rant and I can’t rant without spoilers. PLEASE NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.
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